News | September 23, 2013

Continuum Meets HIPAA Compliance Standards

Leading provider of IT managed service solutions tackles compliance requirements through technical, administrative and physical security improvements

Continuum, a leading provider of managed service solutions, has gone to great lengths to ensure it is fully prepared to assist its partners and their clients in meeting the rigorous standards of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. In addition to implementing new technical, administrative, and physical security measures, the company has created the Continuum HIPAA Resource Centert oprovideup-to-date compliance information for managed services providers (MSPs) to help the mgain a better understanding of the technical implications involved with new HIPAA rules.

“Healthcare is one of the largest vertical markets for our partner base. And MSPs who serve Covered Entities such as doctors’ offices, hospitals, and health insurers need to be compliant with HIPAA if they want to continue with those customer relationships and protect themselves from liability,” said Continuum’s Senior Vice President of Global Service Delivery, Rob Autor. “We have strengthened our overall information security program throughout 2013 in anticipation of this month’s deadline and have implemented the safeguards necessary to achieve HIPAA compliance.”

Through extensivesystems’ reviews, vulnerability analyses and penetration testing, Continuum has fully assessed its risk profile,and taken broad action to fortify its already highly secure platform and processes.The remote monitoring and management (RMM)tool has undergone targeted code modifications to counter newly evolving threats. Security has been tightened in Continuum’s world-class network operations center (NOC) and its U.S.-based Service Desk.Continuum has also implemented industry-leading security solutions including new firewalls and a Security Event and Incident Management (SEIM) system in its new, state-of-the-art data center. Furthermore, the company reinforced physical security in its facilities and improved tools that partners use for security management by enforcing use of strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and enhanced end-user authentication processes.

Administratively, Continuum has also made big changes to accommodate its enhanced security measures. The company appointed Autor to lead its information security initiatives, which include implementing a fully updated set of comprehensive policies and procedures covering all aspects of information security. One hundred percent of theworkforce has been trained and tested on Continuum’s new security program. Autor also heads the newly formed information security steering committee,composedof senior executives responsible for ensuring that Continuum is continuously assessing its security posture and responding to the constantly evolving landscape.

Don Viar, managing partner at Epic Technologies – a managed services provider specializing in the healthcare vertical – has firsthand experience with Continuum's strong ability to navigate the unique challenges presented within the healthcare space. “With the breadth of services that Continuum delivers, healthcare providers can feel confident that they have everything they need to meet the new requirements,” Viar said. “In addition, the Continuum RMM tool allows us to respond to any issues that may arise, quicker than we could if the systems were running on the clients’ premises.”

MSPs can gain more insight about HIPAA, the HITECH Act, and the Omnibus Rule by visiting Continuum’s HIPAA Resource Center at http://www.continuum.net/HIPAA.

About Continuum
Continuum provides a leading SaaS-based managed services platform that managed services providers (MSPs) use to efficiently backup, monitor, troubleshoot, and maintain desktops, servers and other endpoints for small-and-medium-sized businesses. The comprehensive platform provides an intelligent remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution and an advanced backup and disaster recovery (BDR) offering – all integrated with an industry-leading network operations center (NOC) and U.S.- based world-class Service Desk, delivering a single, unified managed services experience. The company currently employs more than 650 professionals worldwide, supports over 3,300 MSPs, and monitors more than a half a million endpoints. Continuum has also formed a non-profit foundation, called Continuum Veterans Foundation (www.hire-our-heroes.org), which was established to provide financial support to local and national charities that focus on helping our veterans find jobs in the IT industry. The principal owner of Continuum is Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com), a Boston-based growth equity firm that has raised more than $15 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.continuum.net.